Lubricating-packing.



G. FLAWITH.

LUBRICATING PACKING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.23,1912.

1,102,332, Patented Jly 7, 1914.

GEORGE ELAWITHQOF mnosnmennanns, MASSACHUSETTS.

Luenrcmrrirrncxme.

Snecicatlpn of Letters ilatent.

` Patented Jlny 7, 1914.

Application nea member as, 1912. serial No. 738,291.

lTo Ulljwhom it may concern Beit known that' Groen linwirma subject-of the King of Great Britain, residing-at MelrosefHighlands, in the county of 5 Middlesex and Statel of Massachusetts, have `inventednew. and.. useful Improvements 1n Lubricating-Packing, of 'which' 4the following/iis aspecication. Filis invention rel k lubricating packing,

, Moreparticularly it relates to acomposition or article of manufacture for holding a .supply of oil against a surface which requires lubrication,

J axle box da railroad car,

iigland-"paeking tifs' the obiectof the invention to provide anfimproveinent upon compositions* that 2O havebeen hitherto used or imownjior this isfpur'pose Cotton vWaste jivhich vis.,commonly used byl the railroads 'aslieng t 'onwthe wholel mest satisfactoria., requires@ relatively l frequent attention'.l Failure gto* ,'ve' Silch attenti'on improper season tsinn -.hot

or tightly, as 1 -n a neben, :occasions delay ancllintejrrupts the service. x 4

lt ienne object of the inveutionto prolvidea"composition which 'iSpraetiOaIly free iroih'thc-requirement of such-attention owtlie very long time which it Wllfniaintitin itselffin goodfgrimiing condi-- tio'n jEflortshave vbeen made to improve packing byjusing' 'other substances in y place lil-ii' ti's among Athe objects of the-.presentinvention fio' 'improve over them as well as over the cotton waste. Y

NoneV of thc comp,ositi ons heretofore pro- 'all solar asl' amv awarefare, wasteful of oilfinjtheense thatv they absorb into their own substance; af substantial quantity of the *"oil anclithus render unavailable-toil which otherwise inig'nt be available orlubrication of thelbc'aling surface.

lt is a further object off the invention to bei@ ifi/hie improvement inV these 'two respects, to provide a composition which can, if so ha speri, run rather dry without sti/'ons e tests. and one which holds a tion with he LA n,

Another dilliculty in conneclubricaiion of bearings,

i tes to improvements 1n either loosely, as in .the

for a piston rod under fluid' .from the Journal.

high proportion otitsoil available for ticul'arly of axle bearings on cars, nas ogen the tendency of the umerous efforts have been made to' remedy this, but I am not aware ofanything that has done so in a commercial successful and satisfactory way prior to the invention herein set forth, notwithstanding' the claims Vor expectations with which various products have been put forth to the public; and it isafurther object of the present` invention to provide a composition that actually will not settle away when Properlyvfpacked, and that can in practice be properl 7 packed easil by ordinary Workmen emp oylng only or inary skill and at tcntion and Working under ordinary'service conditions ltisalso the object of the invention to attain the other advantages which characterize the composition herein disclosed; and it theob'ect of the ,patent to cover in the claims such. eatures lof novelty as exist in the'iuvention herein disclosed.

The main-features of the improvement result from the use of atough elastic liform supportin material;gintermingledv with suit lable fbri-l iform material; and it is a parn ticular feature of the invention to make the former of artially dried animal entrails or t gut. shredded asbestos or leather, or other material.' 4The advantage of asbestos is that it is light in weight,^does not absorb oil, and is itself somewhat of a. lubricant; While leather is still 'lighter land has other advantages.

g When the mixture is complete the greater part of its is composed of this soft shredded fibrous material, with fibers but a fraction of an inch in length, which however is long enough so that they adhere to each other, become somewhatrentanglecl with each other, and have Vcapillary and other spaces among themI for the reception and'holding cl the oil orother lubricant. Running in all dire'ctions through this mass ofsoft material, and holding it op, is the elastic, rough surfaced filiform material first described above.

vThis latter may loe-repa'red -by simply dry ing the intestine :of t e sheep or other animal. When so prepared, this tubular intestinal tissue or liber shrinks into small diameter,

that which l lmve'useii 'with success boil o from sheep similar tia-that used for-ordina i sausages, and beinglovhen dry' `about thirty-second of an inch or meren: (It

ter; becomes irregular, both in thickness and acking to settle awayv T e other material may be inelyI in cross section; hai-dens and stiifens with a rough surface; twists more or less; and eoquires somewhat elastic, wiry characteristics, besides .being naturally strong and tough. if the material be not tubular at the start it may be well to slit it into proper widths before it is very dry. It is also well to curl it somewhat in drying, as bywinding around a rod, or allowin it freedom to Shrink; and to stop' vthe drying before it hasA then-to putin a out three pound of the iliform material to one hundred pounds'of ,the

I combined leather fibers and oil, altliough this proportion may be varied, and then to mix the whole. The iiliform material may be in lengths of veight to ten inches. If the pieces have Vbeen curled in loose spirals they can holdk the fibers better, because masses of bers are embraced between their successive coils.

bodiment of the invention is illustrated in use 1n connection with acar axle.

A I In the drawing, Figure 1 is .a side eleva-- tion of the journal box of thecar axle with the packing in place, in medial section; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, in section.

e 'In the drawing, the car axle is marked 10.

' The journal, through which the weight of the car rests down upon the axle, is marked l1. The journai box is 12, having a door 13 through which the bearing may be inspected and packing inserted; and the packing itself consists of the brilliformmaterial 14: and the iliform material l5, whichis represented, somewhat arbitrarily, as being interwoven and inter-mingled in the mass of brilliform material, with the effect of holding such mass 'u in contact with the under side of the ax e.

When desired for use a suitable quantity of the composition isplaced in the axle box 55 of a railroad car, for example. The com osition should be packed up against the un er sides and the end' of the axle, so that it is well in contact therewith, as ordinary packing at, present is commonly used. The main to reliance for 'holdin the oil is the minute interstices between t eiibers. Practically all of the oil ls available for lubricating purposes, when 'the fibrous material is asbestos combined with ilifomn gut as above described, because ali the oil is on the surface to become sat rated, and' In the accompanying drawing, an. em-` of the bers. A saving of oil is therefore effected as compared with fibers of wool, leather or' other materials which absorb an appreciable quantity of oil into their own substance. Inasmuch as both the asbestos and the gut are inherently lubricators, especially so as compared with leather or wool .or hair or cotton, there is less likely to be harm tothe bearing ifit runs too dry, or if some of the material of the packing be drawn through. These materials, also, arenot i nclin'edfto char, or carbonize as are materials. heretofore used, if the beari runs hot. When the oil is present the gut comes soft and .more slippery -but I have found in practice that, on the one1hand, it retains suiiicient stiffness and elasticity to hold the mass up against the movin surface of the axle; and yet, on the other and, is notapt yto be drawn under the brass bearing. 85

, lHaving thus defined the invention it -will be obvious that any suitable lubricating agent, such as oil or grease or the like, may

be emplo edi with the composition to form the comp ete'- lubricatingpacking', and that. 9 mica or graphite iiakes ma be used' in this connection also that br` liform material of. different varieties may be combined 'in any desired proportions and used with the fliform sup ort. When a bearing has once been proper y packed'with the composition of the invention it will run for a very long time without further attention, a particular effect ofthe tough elastic filiform g'ut components being that itkeepsjthe composition from rolling into balls, or' settlin or being. worked away from the axle,y t will be understood that the word filifor'm-does not limit the element -to whichl it refers to any particular size, but means that it is in the general form of a thread or filament as contrasted with the llbrilliform material ,which term ashere used signifies inmaterial in which numerous' small fibers have been separated from their natural proximity to each other to provide oil holding spaces between them and are gathered ina loose rmass or masses.-

When the invention 'is used in connection with the packing Aof glands gforfplungxers, piston rods, etc., under steam,'air,hydraniic or any other pressure,the composition described may be interwoven with any other substance. 1n order to make a' statinary body, or it may be used as above described;

and its component materials are such that it will resist both heat and `moisture satisfactorily. What Iclaim is:--

l. A composition adapted for a lubricating packing, including, in combination, leather finely divided into fibrilliform coudition and gut in. filiform condition inter mingled therewith.'

2, A composition adapted for 'lubricating 130 lio packing, including, in combination, a mass of finely divided oil holding fihrilliform material und tiliforni cured intvslinal tissue intermxcd tlmrewith und supporting thl higher portions. thereof.

il. The method of making a luln'ifating packing: rmnpi'ising the Shredding et' leather int'n tiiwly divided tihrillifm'm condition; suturutingdt with lullricziting oil; und mix ing tlmrvwilh lilifoi'm gut Y' 4. Tlw method of masking; a lubricating parking: umnprising the curing separately of animal hide and intestinal tissue; forming separately the hide into fibrilliform (rondition and the intestinal tissue into filiform condition; and then satin-ating the fil/grilliform material with a lubricant and mixing the iliforln material through the muss.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass., this nineteenth day of Decemhen 1912.

GEORGE FLAWlTH. l Witnesses:

JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, EvERE'i'r E. KENT. 

